The Lilac Sage
by Bain904
Summary: Riese Hayashi, a first year student coming from the number one culinary school in Europe, Reuder Academy. She is to be an exchange student at the Tōtsuki Tea Ceremony and Cooking Academy in Japan. There has always been rivalry between these two schools, what could have caused the sudden exchanging of students? Never mind that, as it will unfold further in the story.
1. Chapter 1

"What? Exchange student?" The common phrase being heard in the entire school campus. It was the first time in the history of Totsuki, that a student from Europe will be studying in the prestigious school in Japan. Other than the transfer student named Yukihira Soma, this has caused quite the uproar. Possibly, even more evident than when Yukihira had first made his speech for being the only transfer student of that generation.

"Exchange student, huh. How exciting!" A certain brown haired student, wearing nothing but a fundoshi, voiced out to his fellow dormmates. All their heads turned to him, giving him their full attention.

"Really? From where?"The timid dark blue haired girl asked with her eyes sparkling with curiosity. This caused the others to become even more interested and their food started to go cold.

"Reuder University in Belgium." The fundoshi wearing boy said in a matter of fact way. "The number one culinary school in Europe." All their eyes widened at his statement, some even dropped their utensils causing it to clash with the plates.

"Reuder University?" The only red haired one in the group repeated, "What's so special about that school, Isshki-senpai?" They all sweat dropped and mentally face palmed at his question. This fiery and dense boy was always clueless. They shouldn't even be surprised anymore.

"Do you live under a rock, Yukihira? I should talk to your father and question him about the way he raised you." The Polar Star's warden sighed in an exasperated manner. "That school provides the titans of the culinary world. Five-star restaurants, hotels, resorts, and etc, literally go at each other's necks just to claim a student." They all listened intently to what she said, "Quite similar to Totsuki actually, however..." There was a dramatic silence, "Out of 200 students in each batch, only 3 graduate."

"What?!" They all gasped at what she said. They all thought that Totsuki was already bad, but this European school topples it over.

"But," Isshiki began. "Even if you do not graduate officially, you will still be sought after by companies." He looked serious, "Of course, your worth depends on how long you have survived the school."

"It must be a really good school then." Soma mused, it was all quiet until he spoke up, "I can't wait to challenge him to a Shokugeki." They all looked at him with disbelief.

"Her." Isshiki corrected, "The exchange student is a girl. She is also the third pedestal of the Omega 7."

"Omega 7?" They all repeated after him once again.

"Omega 7 are the top 7 students who are similar to the Elite 10 that we have here." Isshiki poured himself some tea, "They are usually heirs or heiress to different companies and have the highest rate o f graduating. It is determined by the grades, rating, and performance of each student. Usually, there are two from the fourth year, 2 from the third year, 2 from the second and 1 from the first year."

"But why would they be sending a member of the Omega 7 here?" The game specialist asked.

"Who knows?" Isshiki said seriously, "Our school is probably trying to make better ties."

~'~'~

All students were now gathered together in the assembly area which was rarely used. The last time being the welcoming of the freshmen that year, and of course, Yukihira Soma's extremely bold speech about being number one. Their faces all held anticipation for they all knew what was to happen.

Whispers had died down when a tall and slender girl walked up the stage, at the same time with Headmaster Senzaemon Nakiri. She had long, wavy, layered lilac hair which went pass her shoulders, nearing the small of her back. Her eyes were different from the typical eyes, she had sectoral heterochromia which caused her eyes to be a combination of blue and amber. Her skin was as fair as porcelain which further enhanced her lips which were the shade of cherry blossoms in full bloom. Her structure seemed to be athletic and slender at the same time, her breast weren't as gifted as the other women in the Nakiri family, but that did not decrease her appeal. Her stride was graceful and dominating, not a sound could be heard as her feet touched the wooden stage.

Most guys and girls were staring at her with admiration and awe. As if they were under her spell. Their train of thoughts were disrupted when the headmaster's deep voice resonated through the speakers.

"Good morning, dear students."

"We are here today to welcome our very first exchange student, Riese Hayashi, from Reuder University in Belgium." All eyes were on the girl who had a blank look on her face.

"She isn't just only a first year student, she is also the Third Pedestal of Reuder University's Omega 7." They all gasped and more whispers dispersed through out the crowd of students.

The Headmaster cleared his throat in order to silence the students, "She will be participating in all the classes and activities." He put on a dark expresssion, "Let her serve as your motivation to do better." He looked at the silent girl beside her and she looked back with a knowing look. He handed her the microphone but the bored look on her face had not been wiped off.

"Totsuki, ay?" Her voice was mellow but firm at the same time, it help power. "I don't really have much to say actually." Her Japanese was fluent and flawless, shocking a lot of people who had judged her based on her appearance, "I just hope that this school's competition will not disappoint me like my previous school did." She gave a fake smile and handed the microphone back to the director.

They all stared at her in disbelief as they all knew about the history of the school she came from. To say such words caused them to cower and think negative thoughts. Some of students began to feel intimidated, some excited.

~'~'~

All the students were dismissed and they resumed their usual classes. On this day, the results of the Autumn elections were to be released, and it was also the last day of classes before the competition. They all gathered in front of the bulletin board where the results had been displayed.

"Oi! That exchange student is included."

"That's unfair, we don't even know what she really is capable of. For all we know, she could be a fake."

"Shh! Don't say that out loud, baka!"

The lilac haired beauty clearly was the one causing all the commotion. The Polar Star Dorm members struggled to get a glimpse of the results, and when they say, majority of them got in.

Yukihira Soma began bickering with his rival, the blonde Aldini brother as they did not notice an approaching figure.

"So we'll be in the same group, aye?"

 **A/N - Hello everyone! I recently got addicted to this anime. Hahaha, and been reading fanfics nonstop. Ehrm.. Yeah. Anyways, this is my take of an OC living or studying in Totsuki! Oh and...**

 **Disclaimer, I do not own Shokugeki no Souma, I only own my OC!**


	2. Chapter 2

Riese's P.O.V

After the opening ceremony, which by the way, was extremely boring, the director allowed me to roam around the campus. My first class would begin an hour from now anyways, so might as well get myself to memorize every detail of the school.

The school's campus is extremely large, possibly larger than Reuder University. However, the competition, I could not compare yet. It was the one thing that drives me to continue studying here. Reuder University gave me no thrill at all. I needed something that would motivate me to cook and to further improve myself and my skills.

Speaking of competition, the Autumn Elections had peaked my interest. I was automatically included because it would serve as some kind of test for me.

"Che, as if they needed to test me." I said to no one in particular. I was confident in my cooking, and I was confident that it surpassed everyone here, like it did in Reuder. However, Reuder's headmaster had asked to hold back. Which was boring. My thoughts were cut off when I heard a group of students fussing in front of a bulletin board. I supposed that it contained information regarding the upcoming event, so I decided to take a look as well.

I looked for my name and saw it had been listed in Block B. I checked my competition, memorizing each name, after that. I looked to my side and saw a dark haired girl looking at one of the names in the Block B side, I followed her line of vision.

Tadokoro Megumi

"So we're in the same group, aye?" I voiced out, making dozens of eyes look at me, not that I cared. It was already something that I had gotten used to.

The dark blue haired girl began stuttering, "Me?"

How cute.

I simply nodded, crossing my arms and closed my eyes thinking, 'What was her name again?'

"Tadokoro Megumi?" I recalled and opened my eyes seeing hers widen in shock. It was fun to use this ability to shock people. It made me grin in the inside, her reaction was keeping me entertained.

"That's your name, right?"

"Yes, how did you know?" She asked, I still had my emotionless facade on, but I really wanted to show my mischievous side. However, that could wait.

"Secret. Anyways, I wish all of you good luck." I turned on my heel and began walking away, heading towards the building where my classes will be held. "You all will be needing it." I wasn't going to allow anyone to beat me.

~'~'~

I entered the classroom which was indicated on the schedule that I now memorize. There was no teacher yet but a handful of students were already in the room, and looked at me whispering without shame.

"She's the exchange student." No shit sherlock.

"Damn, she's gorgeous, should I go ask her out?" Ugh.

"I can't wait to see how she'll do." Won't be much long now.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I headed towards one of the empty counters, 'These people have nothing better to do.' I thought to myself as I started to tie my hair in a messy yet elegant bun. I heard someone clear their throat in an attempt to catch my attention. I turned to see who it was and it was that Blonde that the Red Head was bickering with earlier. Beside him, was a taller and chubby black haired guy.

"Good day, dear Bella." Ugh. My veins throbbed at this flirt, I however, kept my composure. "My name is Takumi Aldini and this is my brother, Isami." Italian, I guess?

'Why did that last name sound so familiar?'

"Pleased to meet you both." I tried to say as politely as possible. He was about to say something but could not continue as the teacher has entered the room. He was an old gentleman with a stern look upon his face, piercing blue eyes, and blonde hair which was meticulously swept back. Through the whispers of my classmates, I found out his name, Roland Chapelle, the chef that doesn't smile.

'Once he tastes my dish, I'll have him grinning like an idiot.' He then introduced the dish that we were to make and wrote it on the board.

Beef Bourguignon.

Easy as fuck.

"However, instead of doing our usual set up," that caught the attention of all the students who now had worried looks on their faces, "We'll be doing this task individually instead of by pair." Whines and complains began to fill the room as I sighed in exasperation, if they couldn't handle this alone, then they would never be able to accomplish any of the tasks in Reuder University. They are acting like babies.

"Begin."

~'~'~

Takumi's P.O.V

I could hardly focus on my own cooking, the lilac haired girl in front of me was the reason why. She worked with such grace and precision, she also had a hint of deadliness. The movement that she showed was akin to a sculptor creating details on her sculpture, making sure that each move was perfect as a mistake can not be undone. I snapped out of my trance to see that I was not the only one watching her with interest. This girl intrigued me like nobody else did, of course, besides Yukihira. Nearly everyone watched her except for a certain silver haired and dark skinned boy who was also making progress on his dish, which reminded me that I should get back to doing mine.

'I can watch the bella some other time.' I sighed in disappointment.

~'~'~

Riese's P.O.V

I finished the dish 15 minutes after I had started, I began to make my way to the instructor causing some jaws to drop.

"What? She's already finished?"

"How could have made the meat tender in such little time?"

"Impossible."

"Oh no, I put too much salt!"

I presented my dish with confidence and he took a sniff, I could see the side of lips threatening to curve upwards, he took a bite then suddenly, he froze.

"Was it that bad?" Someone asked, I chose to ignore and waited for my anticipated reaction.

The old man began grinning like a maniac, everyone in the classroom gasped.

"Chapelle-san is smiling!"

"How did she accomplish that?"

"The last time this happened was with the transfer student."

Oh, so I wasn't the first?

The chef managed to finish everything, not surprised, "As expected of a student from Reuder University." He then grabbed a folder with my name and began to scribble stuff down, "If only I could give a grade higher than A." I merely thanked him, used to this reaction. He then gave me the permission to leave.

"That wasn't even 25% of my skill." I mused to myself quietly and began to take my leave, before walking out the door, I turned to look at Takumi and gave him a smile, I knew that he would now see me as his rival, but I knew that he was faaar below me.

'But oh well, we'll see at the Autumn Elections, Aldini-san.'

~'~'~

The day ended quickly and there I found out that it was the last day of classes before the incoming Autumn Elections. I was also notified that the theme of the first round will be curry. I decided what dish I was going to make as to not give myself trouble in the next coming days.

I was heading to my mansion which was provided by this academy, this school was loaded. I could have easily made my way there by calling my driver, but I decided to be an idiot and walked alone as the sun began to set.

After a couple minutes of walking in the dark, surrounded by multitudes of trees, I began to feel lightheaded. I knew that I was about to have one of my dizzy spells. "Shucks, best timing ever."

The world began to spin as I desperately tried to look for my driver's number. But it was to no avail, my vision began to dim and I began to lose my balance. Before I knew it, everything went back.

A/N - I'm sorry if some of the characters seemed OOC! I haven't written in a while and still getting the hang of it. LOL. Anyways, how do you guys think of the story so far? Still trying to develop Riese's character actually. It's not easy, ya know? Hahaha, anyways, don't forget to upvote and to comment as well!

I do not own Shokugeki no Souma. I just own Riese.


	3. Chapter 3

Riese's P.O.V

My eyes slowly flustered open, only to be met with a pair of icy white orbs. I observed the face which owned the icy white orbs, his skin was fair and quite masculine, his lips were pursed together in frustration. His forehead was covered with his hair which matched the color of his snowlike eyes.

He was beautiful.

The silence was destroyed when he began fretting over me, "Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere? Do you remember anything? Do you remember what happened to you?" And a bunch of other dramatic inquiries which caused me to sigh. He was such a worrywart.

"Yes, I'm alright." I stopped him from speaking anything further. I sat up and placed my hand over his to reassure him and calm him down, he sighed in relief.

"If anything were to happen to Hayashi-san, I would be in a lot of trouble." His statement left me curious.

Who was this guy exactly?

He must have been observant regarding my reaction and he immediately answered my question, "Allow me to introduce myself," He had such a knightly aura for some reason, it was peculiar, "I am Tsukasa Eishi, first seat of the Elite 10." That explained a lot. I waited for him to continue, "I was assigned by the headmaster to assist you and watch over you."

"I don't need some kind of body guard." I crossed my arms to show my stubborn attitude, I'm not a child. I'm no longer in Europe, no need for this bullshit. I shot him a look and saw that he was about to get worried again, I felt guilty for snapping at him then gave him a gentle look, "Then again, I'm glad to meet you, Tsukasa-kun."

"And who would have knows what would have happened if you weren't there earlier." I suddenly realized and looked down on my other hand which was on my lap, now I felt even more guilty for being rude.

"Whether I was your 'bodyguard'" he put emphasis on the word, "or not, I would still have brought you here. Luckily, I was on my way home and I saw you there." I nodded, thankfully it was him.

I looked up at him once again, observing his face, my heart throbbed when he suddenly reminded me of someone, I just can't remember who, I was beginning to feel frustrated. I wonder why he looked so familiar.

"Are you alright?" He asked me as he probably noticed me staring, I blushed in embarrassment and looked away, how many times am I going to make a fool out of myself in front of him today? I'm usually composed all the time, what's happening?

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a bit dazed." I gave him a sincere smile, the first one that I gave since I first arrived here, "So, first seater huh?" I changed the topic and looked at him more curiously.

"Yes." He smiled, "It sounds like such an honor, but it's actually a big burden and responsibility." I nodded in agreement, just like being one of the pedestals.

"I suppose that you are also in charge of the decisions of the school, right?" He nodded.

"Almost the same as the Omega 7 then." At least we both had something in common, responsibilities.

"I've been to your school before." I tilted my head waiting for the reason why, "It was before you came, I had to arrange things with your headmaster, as usual, I was in charge of all of the paperwork." Oh, so maybe he knew about me before all this.

"If you're wondering, no I did not pry into any personal information, I just filed everything and had the other Elite 10 members sign." I sighed in relief, for some reason I knew that I could trust him and open up to him, it was actually really weird of me to trust someone so easily.

We continued to talk for a few more minutes when Tsukasa-san looked at his watch and sighed standing up. I was a bit disheartened at the action as I was actually having fun talking with someone for the first time. "You need to rest, Hayashi-san." He looked at me with concern, "It's getting late and I know that you are still weak." I nodded in understanding as my sadness slowly began to fade. I wanted to ask him to stay a bit more but decided against it.

"Wait, isn't this your place?" I must have sounded stupid.

He chuckled, "This is your house, Hayashi-san. My apartment is right across."

"Oh."

"If you need anything, call me, I left my number on your night stand. I also brought up your stuff, they're beside your drawer. I'll visit you tomorrow." I nodded.

"Tsukasa-kun-" Before I continued, he cut me off.

"Call me Eishi, Hayashi-san. No need to be so formal with me." I nodded.

"Eishi-kun, thank you once again. And call me Riese instead." I gave him a smile which he returned.

"Very well, Riese-chan," that made me blush, "I'll see you tomorrow, and good night."

He left, leaving me smiling like the idiot, for the first time in the longest time, I felt warmth. And for the first time in what seemed to be like eternity, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

"Eishi Tsukasa." I whispered before drifting off to sleep.

~'~'~

The next day, I woke up to the ringing of my door bell. Still not fully processing where I was, I began to make my way to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth, not bothering to look at my clothes or how I looked in general. I groggily made my way down the stairs and to the door, I opened it and saw Eishi-kun.

"Eishi-kun, good morning." I rubbed my eyes and noticed how flustered he was. I looked down at myself and saw that I was wearing just an oversized shirt and underwear, the shirt slid down one of my shoulders and revealed a lot of collar bone.

"Uhm, come in first while I get ready." I ran upstairs, leaving him alone. He would be fine, I thought as I rushed to bathe and change into DECENT clothing. Meaning a plain white shirt and black leggings. I made my way back down and smelled something sweet being prepared.

Entering the kitchen, there stood Eishi-kun with his back turned against me. He was busy with what he was preparing, his movement showed such expertise and skill. He worked with grace and his ability could be compared to a student of Reuder University. But I knew that this was just part of his full potential. I sat on one of the chairs and continued to watch him cook.

His cooking was like a performance, but like every performance, it had to come to an end. As he finished meticulously plating the dish, he turned to see me then became flustered. He was probably embarrassed that I saw him cooking.

"How long have you been there?"

"Not too long." I gave him a sweet smile, then he had placed the dish in front of me which turned out to be mango crepe and beside it, cafe noisette.

I suddenly recalled what happened earlier and felt my face flush, "Ah, Eishi-kun, I apologize for earlier."

He shrugged it off and smiled, "It's fine, Riese-chan, just don't be too reckless next time. Someone else might see you like that." I nodded, knowing what he was talking about. He then sat infront of him.

The mango crepe infront of me was beautifully prepared. The mangoes were cut into diamond shapes and they added appeal to the already perfect crepe. It had no blemishes or burn marks whatsover. It also had cream dotted at the side, making the shape of a flower or something else. It was beautifully presented and I could not wait to taste it. The coffee beside it was strong but gave off a nutty scent. He probably brewed this himself. I looked at him, asking for permission and he gave me a curt nod.

I first bit into the crepe, inside it was more cream which balanced out the mango. Cream cheese? I could not suppress the moan of delight as the cream melted on my tongue. It was so good, the last time I had a crepe this good was in France.

Within a few minutes, I finished the crepe and I saw that Eishi-kun was staring at me with his cheeks burning red. Was he okay? I just shrugged it off then began complimenting his dish.

"Your dish changed my impression of Totsuki, Eishi-kun." He began to regain his composure, wonder what was that about. "I suppose that you specialize in French Cuisine?" He nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Well, I'll be the one cooking for you next time!"

"Will be looking forward to that."

A/N - Hiyaaa.. I'm having a writing spree. So what do you guys think the reason why Eishi-kun was so flustered? Ehem ehem. I'll leave that to your imagination. or maybe I'll add his point of view in the next chapter. Hahaha, who knows? i do. jk.

I do not own Shokugeki no Souma. Just my character Riese.


	4. Chapter 4

Riese's P.O.V

After eating breakfast and talking for about half an hour, Eishi-kun needed to leave to accomplish some Elite Ten duties. Although a part of me felt sad about his departure, I knew that his responsibilities as First Seat were quite heavy so a part of that sadness was cleared.

'Why was I sad in the first place?' I asked myself, I was getting stranger by the minute. Ugh. I shook the thoughts away and began to gather my stuff. Today, I was going to check the school and towns outside the school. I was going to pass by the Shiomi Seminar first to check if I could get some spices that I would need.

'Maybe I should call for a driver?' I decided against it and decided to be an idiot once again. I just wasn't comfortable riding a car with someone that I don't know. Because, reasons.

I walked out the house and looked at it, it was mostly brown and cream, it reminded me of my old house. I looked to the side and saw some other building and it made me curious so I decided to go look at it.

It looked like it was newly constructed, I went inside and it was some kind of a coop or a ranch.

'Oh! Maybe I could raise livestock here.' I looked at it and it could fit maybe 10 chickens and 2 cows. I preferred raising my own livestock as I knew what they were eating and how fresh their produce are.

After examining the building, I spun to walk out of the gate and saw that across it was a small building, possibly, this is where Eishi-kun's apartment is. Maybe I should go visit him later and bring him something to eat as a thank you. I stretched and began to walk, I checked the map that I found on my nightstand along with Eishi-kun's number. I followed it to the Shiomi seminar. Along the way, I saw a creepy looking mansion, and as mentioned in the map, it was the Polar Star Dormitories.

I remembered my friends in Reuder University that would stay in dorms. I sighed and realized how much I missed them. I know that I won't be back anytime soon yet. As part of the two school's program.

After 15 minutes of walking, I arrived in my destination, it was a small building. I knocked on the door and waited for someone to come out. A couple seconds later, a dark tall guy with long white hair that was tied up and green eyes came out. He had, what seemed to be, a cinnamon stick in his mouth. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow waiting for me to speak.

"Good morning, was wondering if you had this list of spices?" I showed him a piece of paper which he looked at and grunted.

"I don't think it's very wise to show your competitors what ingredients you'll be using." I gave him a small smile.

"It's alright, I'm going to get the highest mark, anyways." Confidence was probably oozing from me and the guy's expression twitched a bit. Call me arrogant, but I was just confident in my skill.

"We'll see about that, anyways, yes we do. Jun will be happy to provide you with it." Guess that he won't be happy assisting me. "Come inside, I'll show you what a true chef's dish should taste like." I was tempted to roll my eyes, I went inside anyways and we went to a kitchen which had an array of spices. Spice heaven. I sat on one of the chairs as he began to cook.

"Akira Hayama." He broke the silence as he busied himself with putting ingredients into the pot which he wasn't looking at. From that alone, I could already tell what his ability. He must have extremely good sense of smell.

"Riese Hayashi." I sat on the chair with my legs crossed and arms crossed. He covered his pot and began making something else. He cooked with precision, perhaps similar to Eishi-kun. I wasn't a big fan of curry actually. Maybe he'll convince me that he's a good chef if he makes me like his dish.

"So you're a participant of the Autumn Elections as well." I voiced out barely catching his attention, "Group A."

"Yes." He finished his dish and served it in front of me. It's smell was heavenly, it was some kind of rice dish. I took a bite and it's taste mirrored it's smell.

"It's quite good, Hayama-kun." I complimented him, after taking another bite. "I just had breakfast earlier so I apologize if I can't finish it all."

~'~'~

Akira Hayama's P.O.V

"But it is still below the cooking of the members of Omega 7." This girl was slowly getting to me, but for some reason, I couldn't see myself getting upset with her. I was a bit disappointed as when she ate the dish her reaction did not express itself on her face.

"What about instead of boasting about your skill, show it to me." I suggested earning a giggle from her.

"You're too impatient, you'll see during the competition." She brushed me off and stood up, "Too bad I can't crush you as we're in different groups." Cocky.

"You'll see my score anyways," she slowly made her way towards the door, "I'll be taking my leave now, I'll pass by later this week to get some spices." Her demeanor changed when she gave me a gentle smile, "But I know that what you cooked now isn't the output of your true talent." She then left me alone to my thoughts.

"I'll win the competition. Not just for Jun." I took another cinnamon stick, "but to prove you wrong Riese Hayashi."

I went over to one of the research rooms to see Jun, she was busy analyzing something and I noticed that she forgot to water the plants again, it was starting to become more of my duty now. Not that I mind. I began to water them and she noticed me.

"You're awfully quiet today, Akira-kun."

"Just tired." I lied, I was thinking of ways to crush that girl, "Riese Hayashi passed by today. She asked if she could get some spices from you."

"Oh the exchange student?" She paused for awhile, "You made a new friend, Akira-kun?" Her eyes began to sparkle as I sighed in annoyance. More like rival.

"She's really pretty you know, maybe you could be more than friends with her." I was shocked and nearly dropped the watering can. For the first time in a long time, I lost my composure.

My cheeks flushed red and I looked at my guardian, she was laughing and taking of her glasses to wipe her tears, "I was just kidding, Akira-kun." I grumbled profanities and decided to get some fresh air. Sometimes, Jun acted way out of character.

'Why would she even think that?'

 **A/N - Okaaaay, so I know this chapter was pretty short. But I'll try to make the next chapter longer! So, we have Eishi Tsukasa and now Akira Hayama? Who do you guys think that Riese will end up with in the end or who do you want her to end up with? Your comments could greatly affect the story line.**

 **I do not own Shokugeki no Soma. Just my OC.**


	5. Chapter 5

Riese's P.O.V

I decided that I would finally call my driver to bring me to one of the nearby towns. I wanted to get to know Japan more. It was similar to Belgium as both countries were quiet. But the cuisine was quite different.

I have been to multiple countries already, and I could say that Japan's cuisine is most similar to Italian cuisine and the opposite of French cuisine.

Pete, my driver, soon arrived in front of my house. He was extremely polite and friendly, and as we were driving to the town, he was quiet. Something that I liked as I was usually lost in thought when I was in a car.

20 minutes after, we arrived in front of one of the department stores and I was at awe at the multiple high end stores present in this town. I was bored so I wanted to buy some clothes and ingredients for what I was going to be cooking later. I told Pete that I would call him and he would fetch me where he dropped me off.

With that, my shopping spree began.

I wasn't usually into buying clothes, but I didn't have enough clothes for Summer so I decided to buy some. I bought some cotton shirts, shorts, loose pants, etc. I even found some interesting books. I went over to the grocery to buy the ingredients for the dessert that I was planning to make. There I bumped into an unexpected person.

"Riese-sama? What are you doing here?" I turned to see a violet haired girl, she looked awfully familiar. Erina-san's aide? What was her name again, ah Hisato Arato.

"Ah, Hisato-san, are you here with Erina-san?" She shook her head no and gave me a gentle smile, she was a good person, she assisted me when I first arrived and made sure that I was comfortable and everything. Erina-san was lucky to have her as her aide.

"I was looking for ingredients for the next dish I plan on making for Erina-san, she's a bit unwell." See? Just a little bit more and they could be a couple because of how sweet Hisato-san is. I dismissed the thought.

"Oh, I hope that she isn't feeling that bad. I'll try to visit her soon." I gave her my regards and we both parted ways, I paid for what I bought and began to make my way towards one of the cafes. I wanted something sweet. I bought an ice blended drink and sat on one of the chairs near the window.

As you could tell, I was really fond of sweets. That's why I specialize in baking and I opened-

"Oh! It's the bella." I knew that voice, it was that cocky blonde from the first class that I was in. I sighed and knew that my peace would be disturbed.

"Takumi Aldini." He sat in front of me, he was wearing a simple navy blue shirt and fitted pants. Most of the girls around me looked at me with envy. If only they knew how annoying he was.

"How do you like the town so far?" He was being suprisingly pleasant. Not very annoying today.

"It's alright." I gave a curt response. "What brings you here?" I asked trying to be civil as I took a sip from my drink.

"I'm just buying some stuff that my parents wanted me to bring. I'm going back to Florence tomorrow." He suddenly piquied my interest.

~'~'~

Takumi Aldini's P.O.V

The beautiful girl infront of me had her lilac tresses in a messy but elegant bun, like she had yesterday. Her cheeks were naturally rosy and her lips matched as well. Although she was wearing simple clothes, her beauty radiated throughout the area.

'Ugh. No way, she's my competitor.' I tried to deny these feelings that were threatening to show. Luckily Isami was not here as he knew about how I felt when I ranted to him.

"That girl was so annoying, who does she think she is?" I paced the room and ignored my brother who was snickering.

"But brother, you like her right?" I glared daggers at his statement.

"What are you saying?!"

"Well..." he looked to the side, "You did look like you were flirting with her yesterday."

"I did not!"

"You called her bella."

That shut me up.

I knew that I didn't just like her because of her looks, but rather, her skill in cooking.

Okay, so I just confirmed that I do like her. I'm mentally arguing with myself right now. I wasn't even listening to what she was saying about Florence.

"I've been there once.'

"Oh? Was this long ago?" I asked curious.

"Not really, I was with my dad's friend. They were working in different restaurants." Interesting.

We continued to chat for a couple more minutes when she stood up, realizing that she needed to go. I offered to bring her to wherever she was going but she politely declined.

"Do take care, Aldini-san." With that, she walked away, leaving me alone and giving me the chance to finish the rest of my tasks.

"I'll see you at the Autumn elections, Riese Hayashi. Don't disappoint me by losing."

~'~'~

Eishi Tsukasa's P.O.V

I couldn't focus on my work, the lilac-haired beauty was literally dominating my mind. The way she smiled, her voice, everything about her. I never knew that someone could make me feel like this. It was ridiculous as she only got to meet me yesterday.

But I had known her long ago.

"Oi, Eishi, you've been staring at that paper for 5 minutes now." I turned to see one of my self-proclaimed best friends lazing around. Her cat-like features were focused on the snack that she was eating. I ignored her rubbing my temple, trying to get rid of a certain lilac-haired beauty.

"Are you thinking of Riese-chan?" I looked at her and glared, she was grinning with mischievousness and I knew that she was going to tease me

"Is Eishi-kun in loooove?" That's what best friends are for.

"Whatever, Rindo."

Before I knew it she was in front of me and teasing me, "Riese-chan~ Riese-chan~ Rieeese-chan~" I ignored her and knew that she would be like for a long time.

As if I were being blessed by the heavens, Rindo's phone rang and she looked at the caller ID. She sighed in annoyance and began to walk out the door, "I'll be back to annoy you, Eishi-kun." She closed the door and left me in peace.

Was I really in love? Impossible. I had no time for that.

I finished my work and stood up to stretch. This was everything that I needed to do for the rest of the break and I knew that I'd have nothing else to do.

'More time for me and Riese-chan then.'

I felt my face going red when there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Come in." Weird, Rindo never knocked. Who could this be?

"Eishi-kun, are you busy?" There stood the person who had been invading my thoughts the entire day. She was still wearing the clothes that she wore earlier today but she was holding a paper bag in her other hand.

"I just finished, Riese-san, have a seat." She did so and I sat on one of the chairs in front of her. She began to take out whatever was in that paper bag. It was a box.

"I made you something, a thank you for last night and this morning." She handed the box over to me and I opened it, to be surprised with a simple looking cake.

"Brazo de Mercedes?" I asked, this was one of my favorite sweets.

"Yes, frozen." She gave a smile and handed me a fork. I took a bite and it was absolutely divine. I finished the entire thing within a few minutes.

"You must have been hungry." She giggled as the used her thumb to wipe something off my lower lip. Her finger was soft and I found myself blushing, so I lowered my head so that she wouldn't notice.

"Yeah, I had a lot of paperwork to finish." I turned and pointed towards the stack of paper located on the table. Hopefully, my blush had already faded away. This girl is affecting me in such a strange way.

"Why don't we get something heavier then? I see the brazo wasn't a very good choice. It's too light."

"It was still very good. One of the best."

"I know." She stuck her tongue out.

Very confident as well.


	6. Chapter 6

Riese's P.O.V

A couple of days have passed from when I first got here. Almost everyday, I would be spending time with Eishi-kun. We would walk around the town, try eating in different restaurants and giving our personal rating, we would stay in my house or in his apartment, cook and compare meals, binge watch movies, talk to each other about random things. I could already consider him a great friend.

Today was one of those days, we both were just sitting on the couch and watching some horror movie. He chose the movie for some reason but he didn't seem to be into horror movies. Wonder what's gotten into him.

"Eishi-kun, are you alright?" He flinched when I touched him and I giggled. Cute.

He looked at me and nodded then went back to watching the movie. It was actually quite boring, but he wanted to watch it so I didn't complain.

After a couple of other movies I was beginning to feel sleepy. "Eishi-kun?" I got no response and saw that he had fallen asleep. I checked my watch and saw that it was already 10 p.m. Time flies by so quickly with him.

I closed the TV and went up to get him more pillows and a blanket, I tried to rearrange him into a position where he would feel comfortable in and I watched him.

His breathing was steady and his face was tranquil. Some strands of hair covered his face and I moved them so that it wouldn't irritate him in his sleep. After a few minutes of acting like a creepy stalker, I decided to head to my room and get ready for bed.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

My phone rang and I sighed at the caller ID. I right away answered it.

"Hello, Headmaster Senzaemon. What brings you to call so late at night?"

"I apologize for the inconvenience Hayashi-san, I would just like to remind you about some things regarding the upcoming Autumn Elections."

I listened intently of what he was saying, just simply nodding to myself.

"Alright, headmaster."

"Goodnight, Hayashi-san and good luck. Although I know that you won't be needing it." With that, he ended the call. I sighed once again.

"So scripted. And I'll have to hold back. What is this? Some kind of entertainment show." I mused to myself and began to drift to sleep.

~'~'~

The morning came and today was the day of the Autumn Elections. I stretched and got out of bed, heading to the bathroom to get ready for my day. Today was going to be a breeze. After my daily routine, I headed downstairs and saw Eishki still asleep.

'He must have been really tired.' I made my way to him and watched his elegant features as they twitched every once in a while.

"Eishi-kun..." I tried waking him up by gently patting his arm. He groaned and turned to the other side of the couch. I chuckled at his action.

"Hey, wake up." I shook a bit more. Then he groaned and surprised me.

He grabbed me and pulled me down to him. He was hugging me tightly and his head was buried in my hair. I was frozen. My heart was beating in a crazy manner and I tried to struggle free.

I then looked up to see that he was actually awake! The sneaky bastard.

"Morning, Riese-chan. Gotchu." I glared at him before noticing that our faces were mere inches apart. I felt my self getting flustered. What was he doing?

"Eishi-kun! If you keep this up, I'm gonna be late for the Autumn Elections." His grip then started to loosen a bit before he groaned once again.

"Ah, that's today?" He asked and began to sit up and stretch. I stood up and answered him.

"Yes, aren't you supposed to be there as well?" I asked him. Before he answered my question, he stood up.

"No, not really." I felt somewhat disheartened at what he said, I just shrugged off the feeling. "I have to meet up with someone." Oh.

"Oh okay..." I said a bit sadly, hoping that we would not notice. He then tried messing up my hair, "I'm sure that you'll do great. I would offer to bring you there but I haven't gotten changed yet." I smiled at his words, "It's alright, my driver is already waiting outside. Take care today!"

"You too, don't intimidate them too much." I giggled.

"I'll try."

~'~'~

I arrived at the Chandra's Room and immediately felt the tension and excitement bubbling from each student. Majority of those standing outside were the ones who were going to watch, and there were multitudes of them. I held my bag which contained my ingredients and most importantly, the spices which I had requested from Akira-kun. I made my way through the crowds and the whispers about me began to increase as I neared the entrance.

"Hey, it's Hayashi-sama."

"She's so pretty!"

"She doesn't look intimidated at all."

"Wanna bet that she'll get the highest mark?"

"Tch, bet that she won't even get into the top 4."

Che.

I wanted to lash out but I knew better. I would just prove them wrong with my cooking. Cooking nearly everyday with Eishi-kun taught me some techniques when cooking Japanese food. Not that I was going to be able to use it here though. My dish today would be something simple.

I entered the part of stadium where the Group B competitors will be judged, there I saw Tadokoro-chan, Alice-san, the Aldini brothers(?) wait was that Isami?, Arato-san, and other students that didn't seem to be that important to mention anymore. Not that I knew them, I only knew those that I knew would be interesting.

"Oi, isn't that Tsukasa-senpai?!"

"What's he doing here? He never watches!"

"It's the first time that I've seen him in this area, heard that he hates crowds."

"Why would the first-seater be interested in watching the people here? Aren't they below his level?"

"Maybe he's here for the exchange student, they seemed to be hanging out a lot lately."

"Yeah, maybe he's trying to study the way Hayashi-sama cooks."

'He's been cooking with me for the entire break.' They're coming up with such stupid assumptions.

"Good morning, everyone!" The outgoing female host literally screamed into the mic. Her voice was hurting my ears. "I am Urara Kawashima, your host for today!" The girl began introducing each one of the hosts and stating the time limit and the theme, I ignored her and glanced at Eishi-kun and he was standing with his arms crossed. I noticed that a lot of other girls were looking at him too.

Not that it mattered.

"And so, let's begin!" Each chef hurried to get their dishes finished. I too began with my dish. Starting with using a pan to dry roast mustard seeds, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon stick.

'10 seconds before the mustard seeds pop.'

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

I began stirring and added cumin seeds and asafetida. After that I added tomatoes and softened if for 3 minutes and 34 seconds. I added two cups of vegetable stock instead of water and cooked for 2 minutes and 47 seconds. Cayenne pepper, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt were the last to go in.

In another pot, I had already started boiling unpeeled potatoes and left it to begin cooking my quinoa. All these would be finished at nearly the same time. 3 second interval between each other.

I waited and looked around me, everyone was rushing and not even nearly finished with their dishes. It was already 15 minutes in and I was nearly done. I looked towards the audience and a certain person caught my eye. Almost making me gasp. I remained my cool demeanor.

'That can't be him.' I refused to look again and returned to my dish which was just in time finished when I had snapped back to reality. Once the potatoes were finished, I added it to the tomatoes earlier and added green peas cooking it for another 7 minutes. I added something special to the Quinoa which the judges would soon taste later on. I placed the cooked Quinoa in three separate bowls and garnished it with cilantro.

3

2

1

I removed the cover from the pot and the arena began to be taken over by the smell. Each one of them salivating at the dish which I had created. I knew that this was going to be the perfect dish.

I placed the completed dish in a separate plate and I knew that I was ready to serve. But opted to wait for the dish to cool down for a while as I knew that it would help the flavours settle.

"You're already done Hayashi-san?" That all too familiar voice belonged to a certain Blonde Italian. I nodded and sat down on one of the stools. Waiting for someone to serve first. I wasn't rushing, I already knew the results. Then a bold student decided to serve his dish. Which resulted to a score of 20 points. Out of a hundred.

35

27

9

8

18

Disappointing score after disappointing score followed one after the other. When a girl who was similar to witch, served here pungent dish which earned a score 84. Shocking everyone in the crowd. Followed by that was Hisato-san's dish which beat the creepy girl's score by 8 points.

Megumi-san managed to wow the audience with a score of 88, knocking Isami whose score was 87 out of the top four. The blonde earned a score of 90 and so far the highest score was 95 which belonged to Erina-san's cousin who specialized in Molecular Gastronomy. Something that I was also well familiar with.

"I guess it's time for me to serve my dish." The entire stadium became silent, a pin could be heard dropping if this silence carried on. My usually silent footsteps echoed throughout the stadium. I served the five judges my dish.

"Bon Appetit." I gave them a slight bow.

"This dish, it's smell is amazing. I've never encountered such an amazing scent."

"Enough with your words, I can't wait to try it."

At the same time, all the judges shoved a spoonful of my dish and they all stayed frozen. Then they all moaned and each was transported to their own pleasurable image that they had of the dish that I had served to them.

"Amazing."

"Simply perfect!"

"I have no words to describe this."

"I can't stop eating it."

"I need more!"

Once they finished, their plates had been empty and the entire stadium was in awe. This was the first time that they had seen judges finish a meal that they were judging.

"Girl, what did you put in the quinoa? Was it-"

"De Foie Gras, in layman's term, duck liver pate." I informed them.

One of the judges stared longing at his dish, if I recall correctly, he is one of the famous writers in the Culinary World. "No words can explain this dish. How it all came together, the explosion of flavour, the different cultures all in one dish."

"Judges, it would be best to announce the scores?" The host piped in. And soon, the score appeared on the screen.

A/N - Cliff hangeerrrr~ So guys, how do you like the story so far? I'm having so much fun writing it. The dish that Riese-chan made is Aloo Mattar. However, I used quinoa instead of rice or bread! I cook and I like to experiment a lot, I guess that's why I'm so into this series.

I do not own SnS, just my OC!


	7. Chapter 7

Riese's P.O.V

100 appeared on the screen and everyone gasped. As if it were the first time that they had seen a perfect score appear on the screen.

The host began stuttering, "Oh w-wow! W-with this score Riese Hayashi takes the lead and moves on to the next round!" People began clapping and I kept my neutral face on. I began to make my way back to my station then I noticed that Akira-kun was already watching from the audience. Maybe Group A had finished earlier.

"Told you." I mouthed as I stuck my tongue out making him huff and steer away from my eyes. I began busying myself with putting my equipment back into my bag and we were all dismissed. I was supposed to go and check how Group A was doing but realized that most of the audience would migrate there and that it would be too noisy.

Then I noticed a pair of amber eyes on me. He still had not left. I hastily made my way out of the arena so that I would not run into him.

'Why is he here?' I cringed at the thought of him. Unwanted memories would begin to make their way to me and I attempted to shake them off.

"Riese?" The only voice that enjoyed hearing in this school called my name, my heart began to feel lighter and mood better as I turned and saw a certain white eyed person making his way to me.

"Eishi-kun, you said that you wouldn't be able to make it." I gave him a sweet smile. The smile that I would only give to him. The smile that only he had the privelage of seeing.

He grinned, "What? You thought that I would miss watching you cook? Don't you know me, Riese? Did what I tell you earlier make you like me less?" His worrywart attitude began to show and I laughed.

"Eishi-kun! You're worrying too much again."

During the past few days that the two of us had been hanging out, he would smile more and worry less. I liked to think that somehow my presence would make him feel more comfort or something. But of course, I kept that thought to myself. I wasn't even sure yet.

"Hahaha, sorry Riese." He began ruffling my hair and I gave him my trademark glare which would usually make other people shiver or freeze. But he was different, he knew that all my acts were just a facade to keep people from making friends with me and hurting me.

'But didn't that give him the chance to do that?' A random thought crossed my mind and I dismissed it. I was confident that he wouldn't ever do that.

I looked at his face and felt my heart clench for some reason, 'Why do I feel like I've known you before?' He must have noticed the look on my face and another worried look graced his features.

"Are you okay, Riese-chan? Are you feeling sick? Did you cut yourself earlier? Do you want to go to the clinic?" His nonstop questions began once again as I smiled.

"No, I'm fine, Eishi-kun... I just began feeling that maybe I knew you before."

I noticed his eyes widen and appeared to have a glimmer of hope. It quickly returned to his normal look.

"Maybe you are just mistaking me for someone else." He began to mutter the last few words and avoided my eye contact.

'Yeah, maybe.' I began to dismiss the thought as we made our way out of the building. I offered to assist him with his paperwork so that he could finish it earlier.

As we were making our way out of the building, Yukihira and the rest of his gang were waiting outside and cheering.

"Let's celebrate later!"

"It's okay, Megumi-chan! You did great!"

"Hey look! It's Tsukasa-senpai and Hayashi-san. Isshiki-senpai, why not invite them later?"

With that being said, a chestnut haired guy, named Isshiki, made his way to us. "Congratulations, Hayashi-san! Nice seeing you here, Tsukasa-senpai."

"Thank you." I murmured giving a small smile.

"We would like to invite you to our celebration party later!" He gave a cheeky smile, "We're having a celebration for the members of PSD who are getting into the quarter finals."

"PSD?"

"Polar Star Dorm, Hayashi-san."

I looked at Eishi-kun, making him decide. I wouldn't mind going if got to mingle with the people who actually seemed capable of cooking a worthy dish.

"Sure. We'll pass by." Isshiki-san seemed shocked but it quickly went away. He put on his cheerful demeanor back, "Very well! See you both later!"

~'~'~

Satoshi Isshiki's P.O.V

How strange, never had I thought that Tsukasa-senpai would ever visit us in the Polar Star Dorm. For a party! What a surprise.

I watched as the two light-colored hair pair walk farther away from us.

'Maybe that girl is changing him.' I couldn't help but put a smile on my face. Ignoring the fact that my juniors were looking at me strangely and poking me.

"Who are you exactly, Riese Hayashi." I whispered silently, I knew that no one would hear. My hair was gently being blown by the wind and the sunset's rays made it shine.

"Uhm... Isshiki-senpai." A timid voice destroyed my limelight. I looked and saw Megumi-chan.

"Yes, Megumi-chan?" I asked her sweetly.

"You've been dazed for 5 minutes now. Are you alright? The rest have been heading back to the dorm."

"Right, sorry! Let's get going." I looked over her shoulder and saw that I was not the only one lost in thought. A certain red haired boy had his face show no expression.

"Let's go, Soma-kun." Megumi-chan also called him out, which he had responded to. We began walking back to our dormitory in order to prepare for our party.

"Yukihira." A deep voice was heard from behind, and we all turned to see an amber-eyed man whose hair was the color of corals.

"Shinomiya-senpai!" Yukihira gave a sheepish grin, "I didn't know that you were here!"

"Keep your voice low, brat." He sighed in annoyance and neared us. He gave Megumi-chan a look which almost made her shrink. He handed Soma something.

"Do me a favor and give this to Riese Hayashi." I couldn't see what it was. Soma stared at it and nodded as Shinomiya-san began walking away.

"Don't tell her who it's from."

~'~'~

Riese Hayashi's P.O.V

I was hanging in Eishi-kun's office. I was originally supposed to help but he told me that it was confidential things so instead, I was sitting on the couch talking with a scarlet-haired beauty. She went by the name Rindou Kobayashi.

"Oh! And then after that, Eishi-kun freaked out when he first saw an alligator in one of our kitchens!" This girl was extremely interesting.

"Why was there an alligator in a kitchen?" I sweat dropped. And her cat-like eyes flickered.

"I needed it to be fresh! I killed it myself." She proudly said.

'This school surely is made with a lot of strange people.' We continued talking and I would explain to her my experiences in Reuder University. She seemed interested and sincere when she looked. She was also very cheeky. She reminded me of someone.

"Eishi-kun here is a perfectionist." She stated while pointing a finger at him as I had my back turned to him. "That's why he does all the paperwork."

"You just don't do yours, Rindou!" He exclaimed as I giggled. They were quite the pair.

We ignored him and we continued to talk. After a couple of minutes, we heard his chair move back and he stood up stretching.

"You done?" Rindou-san asked looking at him as she stood up too. I followed.

"Yes. Hopefully, no Shokugekis or anything extreme will happen during the next rounds.

We began to make our way out, I was in front of them. As I turned to look at them, I saw that Rindou-senpai was whispering something in his ear which made him blush.

My heart clenched at this.

"Oh, well. I had a lot of fun with you today, Riese-chan." She began to walk towards the other way. "Enjoy your party!"

Were they together?

~'~'~

Eishi Tsukasa's P.O.V

'How did Rindou notice? Did Riese-chan notice that I was looking at her too? That every once in a while, I would smile at her giggling figure when they and Rindou would talk? What if she thinks of me differently now? What if she finds my strange? What if she doesn't-' my train of thoughts were interrupted when a certain girl who's eyes were blends of different colors stood in front of me.

"Earth to Eishi-kun! Are you there?" I sighed in relief. The fact that she acted this way only towards me made my blush.

"Sorry, Riese-chan. I was just thinking of something."

"Oh." Her mood seemed to dampen as she was quiet the entire walk.

"Riese, are you okay? Is something wrong? Did I do anything wrong?" I could ask more questions, but I tried to hold back as I didn't want to annoy her.

"I'm okay," she went silent before continuing. "Are you and Rindou-senpai together?" Her random question made my eyes.

"Hahaha!" I couldn't help but laugh.

"Eishi-kun!"

"Sorry, Riese-chan. But your question just sounded too cute. And to answer it, no we aren't." I gave her a smirk, "Could you be jealous?" Her expression suddenly changed as she began stuttering.

"Of course not! What are you saying! I'm not jealous!"

I simply smiled. Why would she be jealous in the first place?

 **A/N - Here's a long chapter for you guys! Anyways, I'm sorry if Eishi is a bit OOC. Hahaha. Will work on it.**


	8. Chapter 8

Riese Hayashi's P.O.V

We arrived at the dormitories and I still had a flustered look on my face. 'I'm not jealous.' I thought to myself and would glance at him every once in awhile in annoyance.

Hmph.

We were welcomed by Isshiki-san who was wearing nothing but an apron? I felt my face getting even redder as I looked at his structure, underneath the apron you could really see his toned figure and I tried to hide my face by drinking from the cup that they offered me, how could they okay with this?

I didn't notice that Eishi-kun was looking at me with a strange look until I glanced his way. I then realized that maybe he saw me checking out Isshiki-san. Well, I didn't mean any malice with it. "What's with your face?"

"Nothing."

I grinned, realizing that this was my opportunity of getting back, "Are you..." I paused for awhile then he looked at me with a cocked eyebrow.

"Jealous?"

He turned the other way and I saw his pale complexion staining red. I was going to tease him when a certain blonde and red-head come my way.

"Hayashi-san! Surprised to see that you're here." It was the blonde Aldini who first acknowledged my presence. I gave him a smile, I slowly began to realize that I was starting to open up to these people. For some reason, I felt at home with them.

"Why is that, Takumi-kun?" He seemed to blush at what I called him but I disregarded it.

Why was everybody turning red today? I looked down at my cup and began to realize that it contained some alcohol.

'I guess that they just have low tolerance.'

"Well, what he's trying to say is that you don't seem to be the kind of person who's interested in making friends. You know? Loner?" Takumi-kun began hitting the red haired boy as I simply smiled in amusement. I noticed that Eishi-kun was awfully quiet.

"Eishi-kun, are you sure that you're okay here?" He gave me a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, Riese. What about we head over to the balcony to get some fresh air?" He suggested and I complied with him, leaving the two rivals bickering over different things once again.

We made our way outside and began breathing in the cool air, I noticed that the alcohol was starting to kick for some reason.

'How weird, I'm usually not affected by this.' I examined my refilled cup, 'Is this rice wine?'

We were in total silence, only the gentle breeze could be heard rustling against the leaves of trees. Eishi-kun was about to say something, he looked at me in the eyes and began to open his mouth.

"Hayashi-san~~~" An annoying voice called out, I saw Soma-kun holding out something with that stupid grin on his face.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to not sound annoyed.

He stopped in front of me and breathed heavily, as if he were tired from arguing with Takumi-kun. "Someone asked me to give this to you." He handed me a necklace, it was an oval shaped amethyst with silver vines wrapped around it. It was flower like because it had peridots which represented leaves. My eyes widened.

"Who gave this to you?" I asked him still looking at the necklace in my palm. I felt tears threatening to spill. It was ridiculous to ask, as I had already known who this was from.

"The person told me not to tell you." Soma-kun informed with a guilty expression on his face.

"It's alright." I muttered quietly.

Memories began to flash through my mind, memories that I had already thought that I had forgotten.

~'~'~

"Keep this with you at all times, brat. This will serve as a token of my thanks to you."

"Senpai's turning out to be a softy!"

"Shut up."

~'~'~

"What do you think you're doing? Are you stupid?"

"Useless, pathetic, can't believe that I even accepted you here."

"You know that, that ingredient was important! Are you trying to ruin my restaurant?! You know what, I could fire you on the spot!"

Tears began spilling from my eyes, I grabbed the chain of the necklace he had given to me and flung it at him.

"You don't need to! I quit!" I ran out the door, never to be seen by him again.

~'~'~

Eishi Tsukasa's P.O.V

When Soma had left, Riese-chan grew even silent. I looked at her and was shocked when tears began to form. She was crying, and I didn't know what to do.

'What should I do? Should I hug her? Maybe she'll think that I'm touchy and then she'll be awkward and she'll never talk to me again. Maybe I'm the reason why she's crying, is my presence annoying? What if after this she'll start ignoring me and even hating me. What should I do?' She continued to bawl her eyes out while I was standing there and being attacked by trains of negative thoughts, little did I notice a blonde coming out and rushing to her.

"Riese-san! Are you alright? What's wrong?" The girl tried to wipe her eyes, and I felt my heart clench.

Takumi Aldini had hugged her and began comforting her. My blood began to boil but I was still being attacked by constant negative thoughts to even act out.

'What if she starts to like him more? They'll end up together. She'll never talk to me again!'

"Riese-san!" I looked once again and she had passed out. I neared her and literally grabbed her from the Blonde knowing that it was time for me to act.

"Tell the others that I'm bringing her home."

"I can hel-"

"No," I said firmly and shot him a stern look. "I'll do it." He backed away nodding. We made our way inside and I rushed outside the door, I couldn't contact her driver because my phone was dead. Good thing that for someone who ate a lot, she was surprisingly light.

As we were walking, the disappointment that I had for myself began to crash upon me. It should have been me who hugged her that way and comforted her. When she wakes up, she won't remember me, she'll remember him. I'm so useless. I watched her features, her eyebrows were still scrunched together and I could feel that she was extremely distressed.

"Oh, Riese..." I continued to walk and we soon arrived at her place, I rushed to get her into her room, ignoring the stress that had begin to build up in my arms. I placed her in her bed and tucked her in.

'I won't leave you alone tonight. I'll watch over you.'

~'~'~

Riese's

I woke up the next day with a severe headache, the sunlight made it even worse. I groaned and turned to my side, and saw a sleeping figure hunched over the side of my bed.

'Eishi-kun slept here.' I felt myself blush at the thought that he endured sitting on the chair just to watch over me. His face was in front of my hand and his expression was peaceful. How can someone be so good looking when they're asleep? I began to run my fingers through his hair and found peace by doing that, it seemed to alleviate the headache that I had earlier just by seeing him like this.

I recalled the events of what happened last night, 'Oh no. I passed out.' But before that, I recall someone hugging me.

'Was it Eishi-kun?' I began to think deeper when a cocky blonde guy's face appeared in my head. 'No, it was Takumi-kun.'

But I wish that it had been Eishi.

Riese Hayashi's P.O.V

We arrived at the dormitories and I still had a flustered look on my face. 'I'm not jealous.' I thought to myself and would glance at him every once in awhile in annoyance.

Hmph.

We were welcomed by Isshiki-san who was wearing nothing but an apron? I felt my face getting even redder as I looked at his structure, underneath the apron you could really see his toned figure and I tried to hide my face by drinking from the cup that they offered me, how could they okay with this?

I didn't notice that Eishi-kun was looking at me with a strange look until I glanced his way. I then realized that maybe he saw me checking out Isshiki-san. Well, I didn't mean any malice with it. "What's with your face?"

"Nothing."

I grinned, realizing that this was my opportunity of getting back, "Are you..." I paused for awhile then he looked at me with a cocked eyebrow.

"Jealous?"

He turned the other way and I saw his pale complexion staining red. I was going to tease him when a certain blonde and red-head come my way.

"Hayashi-san! Surprised to see that you're here." It was the blonde Aldini who first acknowledged my presence. I gave him a smile, I slowly began to realize that I was starting to open up to these people. For some reason, I felt at home with them.

"Why is that, Takumi-kun?" He seemed to blush at what I called him but I disregarded it.

Why was everybody turning red today? I looked down at my cup and began to realize that it contained some alcohol.

'I guess that they just have low tolerance.'

"Well, what he's trying to say is that you don't seem to be the kind of person who's interested in making friends. You know? Loner?" Takumi-kun began hitting the red haired boy as I simply smiled in amusement. I noticed that Eishi-kun was awfully quiet.

"Eishi-kun, are you sure that you're okay here?" He gave me a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, Riese. What about we head over to the balcony to get some fresh air?" He suggested and I complied with him, leaving the two rivals bickering over different things once again.

We made our way outside and began breathing in the cool air, I noticed that the alcohol was starting to kick for some reason.

'How weird, I'm usually not affected by this.' I examined my refilled cup, 'Is this rice wine?'

We were in total silence, only the gentle breeze could be heard rustling against the leaves of trees. Eishi-kun was about to say something, he looked at me in the eyes and began to open his mouth.

"Hayashi-san~~~" An annoying voice called out, I saw Soma-kun holding out something with that stupid grin on his face.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to not sound annoyed.

He stopped in front of me and breathed heavily, as if he were tired from arguing with Takumi-kun. "Someone asked me to give this to you." He handed me a necklace, it was an oval shaped amethyst with silver vines wrapped around it. It was flower like because it had peridots which represented leaves. My eyes widened.

"Who gave this to you?" I asked him still looking at the necklace in my palm. I felt tears threatening to spill. It was ridiculous to ask, as I had already known who this was from.

"The person told me not to tell you." Soma-kun informed with a guilty expression on his face.

"It's alright." I muttered quietly.

Memories began to flash through my mind, memories that I had already thought that I had forgotten.

~'~'~

"Keep this with you at all times, brat. This will serve as a token of my thanks to you."

"Senpai's turning out to be a softy!"

"Shut up."

~'~'~

"What do you think you're doing? Are you stupid?"

"Useless, pathetic, can't believe that I even accepted you here."

"You know that, that ingredient was important! Are you trying to ruin my restaurant?! You know what, I could fire you on the spot!"

Tears began spilling from my eyes, I grabbed the chain of the necklace he had given to me and flung it at him.

"You don't need to! I quit!" I ran out the door, never to be seen by him again.

~'~'~

Eishi Tsukasa's P.O.V

When Soma had left, Riese-chan grew even silent. I looked at her and was shocked when tears began to form. She was crying, and I didn't know what to do.

'What should I do? Should I hug her? Maybe she'll think that I'm touchy and then she'll be awkward and she'll never talk to me again. Maybe I'm the reason why she's crying, is my presence annoying? What if after this she'll start ignoring me and even hating me. What should I do?' She continued to bawl her eyes out while I was standing there and being attacked by trains of negative thoughts, little did I notice a blonde coming out and rushing to her.

"Riese-san! Are you alright? What's wrong?" The girl tried to wipe her eyes, and I felt my heart clench.

Takumi Aldini had hugged her and began comforting her. My blood began to boil but I was still being attacked by constant negative thoughts to even act out.

'What if she starts to like him more? They'll end up together. She'll never talk to me again!'

"Riese-san!" I looked once again and she had passed out. I neared her and literally grabbed her from the Blonde knowing that it was time for me to act.

"Tell the others that I'm bringing her home."

"I can hel-"

"No," I said firmly and shot him a stern look. "I'll do it." He backed away nodding. We made our way inside and I rushed outside the door, I couldn't contact her driver because my phone was dead. Good thing that for someone who ate a lot, she was surprisingly light.

As we were walking, the disappointment that I had for myself began to crash upon me. It should have been me who hugged her that way and comforted her. When she wakes up, she won't remember me, she'll remember him. I'm so useless. I watched her features, her eyebrows were still scrunched together and I could feel that she was extremely distressed.

"Oh, Riese..." I continued to walk and we soon arrived at her place, I rushed to get her into her room, ignoring the stress that had begin to build up in my arms. I placed her in her bed and tucked her in.

'I won't leave you alone tonight. I'll watch over you.'

~'~'~

Riese's

I woke up the next day with a severe headache, the sunlight made it even worse. I groaned and turned to my side, and saw a sleeping figure hunched over the side of my bed.

'Eishi-kun slept here.' I felt myself blush at the thought that he endured sitting on the chair just to watch over me. His face was in front of my hand and his expression was peaceful. How can someone be so good looking when they're asleep? I began to run my fingers through his hair and found peace by doing that, it seemed to alleviate the headache that I had earlier just by seeing him like this.

I recalled the events of what happened last night, 'Oh no. I passed out.' But before that, I recall someone hugging me.

'Was it Eishi-kun?' I began to think deeper when a cocky blonde guy's face appeared in my head. 'No, it was Takumi-kun.'

But I wish that it had been Eishi.

 **A/N - Hiyaaa guys, I'm sorry if Takumi seemed so OOC! Hahaha, there's a reason why.. Well not really, just making it up on the spot. Just kidding. I hope that you guys are okay with how the story is going, if you have any suggestions, comment here or send me a message.**


	9. Chapter 9

Riese Hayashi's P.O.V

I continued to watch as Eishi-kun slept peacefully. Watching him sleep would always put me at ease. The slow rising of his chest, the way his lips slightly parted, the way his hair would cover parts of his forehead. He looked to serene. I instictively began gently running my fingers through his glossy, snow white hair.

"Eishi-kun..." I mumbled quietly. After saying your name, his eyes fluttered opened and in a flustered manner, I tried to pull back my hand which he had grabbed and with groggy eyes he said;

"Keep doing that, Riese... I love your touch..." He had only one eye open now and it threatened to close. He placed my hand over his hair and I continued to play with the silvery locks.

Then a random thought crossed my mind, "Eishi-kun?"

"Hmm?" He hummed in response slowly opening one eye. I sat up and patted my lap.

"You can rest your head here, I'm sure that your body is sore from sleeping there." I saw his eyes widen and his face expressed extreme shock and redness.

"What if it becomes awkward? What if you get uncomfortable? I don't want to stress you-" I shushed him.

"I'm fine." I gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm tired of lying down, and I can play with your hair better." I patted the spot again. He seemed hesistant but he complied. His warmth suddenly surged through my body.

We locked eyes, I continued to stroke his hair and attempted to braid it.

"Riese..." he called out to me.

"Yes?" I asked him as I continued to braid his hair. It was getting kinda long. But he looked good with it.

He paused for awhile, "If you want to talk about last night, I'm always here for you."

"I'm not forcing you to tell me, but I just wanted to let you know that you don't need to look for anyone else to tell. Alright?"

He was so cute. I wanted to grin mischievously but instead I leaned my face towards his. He looked panicked but instead closed his eyes.

Our faces were mere inches apart, when suddenly, he yelped.

'Riese!" I bit his cheek which he was rubbing. I grinned cheekily as he glared at me.

"Were you expecting something else, Eishi-kun?" He was so fun to tease, his face began to flush deadly red.

"Toh..." I began, earning a confused look amidst his flustered self, "Tomato-kun." He sweatdropped at the nickname.

"Don't call me that!" I continued to tease him making him even redder.

"Tomato, tohmahto, tomato, tohmahto~" I repeatedly said childishly.

"Riese..." I ignored him and continued to tease him while pinching his cheeks. Within a couple seconds, I had been pinned under him and I was next to be flustered.

His face neared mine and I could feel his hot breath causing goosebumps to appear. His leg was in between my thighs and I prayed it wouldn't touch anything down there. He looked at me straight in the eye. White meeting a wild mix of colors. His lips almost grazed my face when he travelled to my ears and purposely blowing his breath causing me to shiver.

"Riese... I..." He made sure that each word sounded seductive. The way he said my name made me shiver even more. Then he continued his sentence.

"I'm going to tickle you!" With that, he began using his hands to tickle me like there was no tomorrow. He knew that I was tickling and was using it as his revenge.

"Eishi-kun-" I called out in between breaths and laughs. "Please staaaahpp!" I couldn't even say my words properly with what he was doing. I felt tears brimming drom laughing too much.

"Hahaha!" He laughed along with me but didn't stop. "That's what you get for being naughty, Riese-chan!"

3rd Person's P.O.V; Extended

The two continued with what they were doing and occasional moans of complain could be heard erupting from Riese. Little did the two know that a certain scarlet haired girl came just in time to hear that.

The said girl was supposed to check on the condition of exchange student and report to the headmaster. With a piece of pocky in her mouth, she leaned against the door listening. She then grinned.

"Looks like they're perfectly okay." She began to walk away with her hands in her pocket. Only hearing the moans and whimpers of complain that came from Riese. Which of course, she interpreted as a different thing.

"Never thought you had it in you, Tsukasa."

 **A/N - Hi guyssss~ Just wanted to add this part as a short filler cause I thought it would be cute. I'm extremely thrilled right now cause I passed the school that I took an exam in! I plan on taking Culinary Arts for college. HAHAHA. Hence, the reason why I am sooo in love with this anime.**

 **I apologize that it's super short. I just wanted to add something fluffy for readers who ship Eishi with Riese.**


	10. Chapter 10

Riese Hayashi's P.O.V

A couple days have passed and those competing in the quarter-finals are being summoned one by one in order to get information about their matches tomorrow, of course, I was one of them. Eishi-kun was supposed to accompany me to the offices, but he had to finish something. It seemed urgent.

The car that I was riding slowly stopped in front of my needed location, I said goodbye to my driver and shut the door lightly. I made my way inside to be greeted by one of the Elite 10 members. It was Isshiki-senpai. I haven't seen him since the time I attended the party that they had in the Polar Star Dormitory.

"Oh, Hayashi-san, how are you feeling?" He gave me a smile that was sincere.

"I'm fine, Isshiki-senpai, and no need to be so formal." I shot him a smile and noticed that Erina-chan was also there."

"Erina, I haven't seen you in awhile." I gave her a smile and she gave it back, we both were open towards each other for some reason. We don't get together often, but she was someone that I would show my warm personality to.

"We've all been busy, Riese." She was formal but for some reason, I could tell that her mood lightened up, perhaps, someone that annoyed her was here previously?

I could only think of a certain red-haired boy annoying her, it made me smile in my head.

"Riese-chan, tomorrow, you will be up against Subaru Mimasaka." His tender voice was now formal, he handed me a folder which I scanned.

"Desserts..." A smile appeared on my face. "My specialty."

"Riese-chan, watch out for that Subaru character, alright?" I looked at Isshiki-senpai and he had a look of concern on his face, he wanted to say more, but I knew that he couldn't. I turned on my heel and began to walk out.

"He should be watching out for me." I yawned and opened the door before turning to them once again, "It was nice seeing you both, have a good day." With that, I left the room to a sighing Isshiki-senpai.

"I guess it's time to put on some kind of a show, good luck copying me, Subaru Mimasaka."

~'~'~

The next day came and all participants were getting ready. I kept silent and brought a lot of different ingredients for this round. I had something in mind, it was something that I had been developing for awhile, but I had back-up plans in case my opponent would try to copy it.

'Not that he will be capable of doing so.' I said while sitting down on one of the couches with my chin on my fist, my legs crossed as I boredly watched the upcoming matches.

"Shokugeki."

"Hmm?"

"We will be having a Shokugeki."

My opponent towered over me with a sly look on his face, he was pondering over my terms.

"Very well."

The first one being Soma-kun going up against Alice-chan, everyone in the audience was convinced that Alice would be the winner in this round, but they were all proven to be wrong when Soma-kun took the glory with his Nori-bento or something.

The next one was Hayama-kun versus Hisako-chan, the former one won. Followed by Kurokiba-kun and Takumi-kun. Their dish was ramen, although Takumi-kun managed to pull off an interesting combination of Italian and Japanese cuisine, the impact of Kurokiba-kun's dish won by a landslide. I knew that I was up, so I stood from the couch and stretched.

I wearing a black shirt and my chef's coat tied at my waist, this match was nothing to be too serious about. I had my ingredients in my other hand and began to walk into the arena.

"And last but not the least, we have Riese Hayashi and Subaru Mimasaka! This will not just be an ordinary round, we will be having a Shokugeki!" The overexcited host exclaimed loudly causing the audience to gasp. I had my arms crossed over my chest and a bored look on my face.

"If Riese Hayashi wins, all the kitchen tools that Subaru Mimasaka has in his possession will be surrendered to their former owners, and if Subaru Mimasaka wins." She paused to add a dramatic effect which I rolled my eyes at, "Riese Hayashi will return to Reuder University." They all gasped even louder.

"Why would the administration allow such thing?"

"Subaru Mimasaka has never lost!"

"We can't disband the Riese Hayashi fan club yet!" I nearly lost my composure at that last one and saw the host, Urara Kawashima glaring daggers at me. Which I scoffed at and looked at my opponent.

"Did you say goodbye to your friends, Riese Hayashi?" He taunted me which I ignored, the match was about to start.

"What? Did you suddenly go mute from fear? Your popularity and reign ends here." He continued mocking me which caused my vein to throb.

"I don't speak to trash." Poison dripped from every word, "Especially trash that merely copies their opponents."

"What did you say?" He looked like he was about to hit me, I wasn't fazed by his actions.

"I said that I don't speak to trash." I nonchalantly made my way to my station as the host announced that the match was about to begin. Mimasaka was about to make a comeback.

"Stop wasting time, Croquembouche takes a long time to make." I announced turning him silent, I began to work on my dessert.

"How is she going to pull that off in 2 hours?!"

"That takes 4 hours to make!"

"Is she kidding? That's impossible."

I grinned to myself as whispers emerged from the crowd, they were all so negative. I guess it's time to give them the surprise of their lives. I boiled together water, butter, salt, and sugar over medium heat, then began adding flour when I removed the pan from the heat and mixed for 47 seconds until it was incorporated and returned it to the heat. 24 seconds when the moisture began to evaporate.

'6%'

I added the mixture into a mixer and began to mix at medium speed, adding the eggs one by one with 7.4 seconds interval in between which made the dough smooth and glossy. I was satisfied with the dough as it would no longer stick to the paddle of the mixer but was still thick at the same time.

I got my pastry bag and filled it with the dough and began piping the dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet. I brushed the surface of the dough with egg to make it smooth. I put it in the oven and baked for 15 minutes and 9 seconds before reducing the heat and baked for another 19 minutes.

'40%'

I began to work on my filling, as I was working on it, I looked over at Subaru and noticed that he was struggling to get his work done. He was still boiling the mixture. I returned to my work and cooked milk with vanilla bean, added my egg yolks and sugar mix into the liquid and added corn starch. The mixture immediately fluffed up and I waited for it to cool before adding it into the fridge. I would use it for later. I also took out the cream puffs and it was beautifully golden.

'68%'

Instead of making the usual caramel for Croquembouche, I went with one of my favorite flavors, dulce de leche. It was something that I mastered and knew by heart because of my mother. I smiled at the thought and was finished with it, it wasn't the typical heavy and thick Dulce de Leche, it was rather light and a bit runny but it still had the taste of Dulce de Leche. I took my custard from the fridge and began pipping it into the cream puffs.

'85%'

I began stacking the cream puffs and shaped it into a tower, I poured the dulce de leche over it and it's dark shade perfectly contrasted the golden hues. I took out the confectionary flowers which I had prepared beforehand and added them in a circular manner that gave the dish more color. They were another shade of gold and they contained the caramel flavor.

"Both chefs should be finishing up by now!"

I looked at my work which was finished, it was maybe one of the most beautiful Croquembouche that I had created. I looked over at my opponent and he was still struggling to design his Croquembouche. When he finished, I could say that it paled in comparison to mine. I was first to present my dish and the judges looked like they were about to drool.

"This is my take of a Croquembouche," I began to explain my dessert, "The pastry is of a typical one along with it's custard filling, however, instead of a caramel sauce to be dripped over it, I created a dulce de leche one."

"Then you can't call it Croquembouche," one of the judges piped in, "Croquembouche should always have Caramel."

"Oh, allow me to finish my explanation, monsieur." I smiled and pointed towards the flowers, "Those flowers are caramel." They were glassy and golden, then their eyes widened, "How did you have enough time to create such thing?" They were referring to the entire cake. I proceeded to give each one a plate.

They took a bite, and then the headmaster went bare.

"It's amazing!" The judge who had criticized my work earlier suddenly praised, "The cream puff is soft but crisp, the filling is perfectly cooked and the dulce de leche and caramel go hand in hand."

"It's as if I had been transported to the Eiffel Tower!" One judge said dreamily while staring at the Croquembouche as if it were shaped like the Eiffel tower.

They continued to praise my dish, and finished their plates asking for more. Before I could serve them, the emcee spoke up, "Excuse me judges, but you still have to try the next Croquembouche." They all sighed with disappointment and I returned to my station sitting against the counter.

They began to eat his dish and although it looked similar to mine, their reactions weren't as amazed.

And as expected, I won.

"Impossible!" He looked at me and glared, "My perfect trace can never go wrong!"

"Your Croquembouche says other wise." I gave him a smile, "Just looking at it, the custard is too runny." I pointed to one of the unfinished plate of the judges. "The caramel too thick and burnt, the puff pastry is deflating as it is undercooked." I said without even tasting the dish, "Am I right, judges?"

"She is." It was the headmaster that had answered. With that, his collection of equipment which he had unjustly taken, was strolled inside the arena. I looked over to the crowd.

"Feel free to take what's yours." With that, 99 people ran down to get all their equipment. I just looked at him and was about to turn on my heel.

"Copying won't get you anywhere." I began to walk away, "And you can't improve an already perfect dessert."

I made my way out of the arena and was greeted by a man with coral colored hair.

"I've been waiting for you, brat." I felt myself about to break down, but I kept my composure and tried to be strong. He neared me and I did not back down or express fear.

"What are you doing here?" I asked with boredom in my tone, I didn't want to deal with him. He was about to reach out to my hand but I moved it away, "Don't touch me."

"I just came to congratulate you."

"I don't need your praise."

"Wasn't it I who taught you how to make that?"

We were silent for awhile. "Yes."

"You've grown." He said crossing his arms.

"Is that all that you need to say?" I spat and glared, he was getting on my nerves.

"No." He paused then pulled me into a hug, "I'm sorry." I froze, not knowing what to do. "I regret hurting you, I regret hurting the person who put up with me and who was the only younger sister figure that I had."

I pushed him away, and glared. "Your sorry won't do anything." I brushed him off and walked outside, I felt tears beginning to form, but I refused to look back at that man ever again.

'I hate him.'

 **A/N - Woaaah, longest chappie so far! So Shinomiya turns out to be Riese's former brother figure. At least we know there's no malice between them or something. And we finally reached 10 chapters! Yaaay~**


	11. Chapter 11

Eishi Tsukasa's P.O.V

I watched from the lounge as the Shokugeki took place. I was sitting in the couch with my chin on my hand. Usually, I would be irritated that there was going to be a Shokugeki as that would mean that there would be more paper work for me, but this one dealed with Riese-chan, and I can't be upset with her. She's too special.

The crowds were all expecting the copy cat to win, however, it was a certain lilac haired girl that ruined his winning streak and even brought justice to the ones who had lost to him.

"You may appear cold, Riese-chan, but you really are a good hearted person." I mused to myself and smiled proudly at the girl who was about to make an exit. I knew where I was going to meet her so I went down and waited for her to make her way towards the entrance of the arena. I walked there as quickly as I could and my heart dropped at what I saw.

"Who is he? What is he doing with my Riese-chan? Is he going to take her away from me." My heart began to break and I turned and walked away.

"Your sorry won't do anything." Riese's angered voice echoed down the hallway, and I turned to see that she had shoved the other man away from her. She had her head hanging low and she probably didn't notice where she was going as she literally bumped into me. Her eyes met mine, she was crying. I couldn't stand seeing her like this. She was always calm and smiling whenever she was with me.

"Eishi-kun," She started to wipe her tears away and looked away from me. "I'm sorry, this is embarrassing." I felt sad because she wasn't as open as I thought. Instinctively, I pulled her into a hug.

I whispered into her ear, "I told you, Riese-chan, I'm always here for you. Please don't be embarrassed. It would kill me to not be able to do anything." I rubbed her hair lovingly trying to calm her down as she hiccuped and buried her face into my chest. "I'll protect you."

"Brat, don't act so loving with someone in public. It's disgusting." The coral haired man appeared with an angered look in his face, I looked back at him showing no expression as I continued to hold Riese in my arms. Riese didn't say anything and just kept clutching my clothes.

"I apologize, Shinomiya-san, but I think that your presence is upsetting her." I bravely said looking at the chef who came from France, he shot me a hateful look.

"Ah, so it's my fellow First-seater right?" I kept silent as he continued to examine me, "Whatever, I'll be taking my leave." With that, he was just about to walk past us, "Oh, Tsukasa-kun." He handed me a bottle of pills. "Riese's supply must have run out by now, make sure she drinks it. It prevents her from passing out due to stress." He then turned his back and walked outside. I observed the bottle it was labeled 'Neurocardiogenic syncope'.

"Riese-chan..." No reply, she just kept sniffling and whimpering. I sighed, she needed to get rest, I knew that seeing that man caused her a lot of emotional stress. I picked her up bridal style and she just responded by burying her head into my neck. Her warmth transferring to me. I walked out, ignoring the strange looks that we were getting, and made my way back to her house. Which was about a 15 minute walk from where we came from.

My arms felt numb when we arrived at her place, she had fallen asleep in my arms. I would often hear her mumble, and I heard her say my name at least twice, causing me to become flustered on the way back home but giving me more energy and motivation. I tucked her into her bed, and was about to head back to my apartment when I made sure that she was settled.

"Eishi-kun..." Her voice was frail and hoarse, I spun and saw her trying to sit up but struggling to do so. I rushed back to her side and tried to not ask her a bunch of pessimistic questions.

"Are you leaving?" Her question made my heart feel like it was being squeezed. I felt so guilty as she stared at me with misty eyes.

"I was going to head back to my apartment." I answered her honestly, "Maybe you would need some time to be alone."

She paused before looking down at her hands, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to burden you. You can head back and rest, I know that you're tired and busy." I'm glad that she understood, she probably knew that I still had some paper work to finish.

"You never burden me, Riese-chan." I stroked her cheek causing it to burn red. "I just need to finish some things, but I promise that I'll be back as soon as I finish, alright?" She nodded meekly, pink still staining her cheeks. "Now, get some rest. I'll cook something for you later." I had her lie down and tucked her in again, I grabbed some pajamas from her drawer and set it at the foot of her bed in case she wanted to change. I couldn't bring myself to do that.

Her eyes were already shut and I felt like she was asleep, I tiptoed my way out.

"Eishi-kun, thanks for everything." It was soft, and barely could be heard.

"You're welcome, Riese-chan." I left and closed the door, making my way back to my apartment and began to finish all the work piled up on my table. Luckily today, all that I needed to do was to file papers and sign some things. Then my phone suddenly rang, the contact ID made me gulp.

"Good afternoon, sir."

"Yes, we will be having the next meeting after the Autumn Elections."

"I will inform you right away. Alright, thank you and have a great day." With that, the line had been cut off. I sighed in relief when the call ended.

"Him again, Tsukasa?" My best friend appeared when the door had opened, she had a lollipop in her mouth as she sat on one of the rolling chairs in front of my desk and began spinning it around.

"Yes." I sighed and continued filing. "Rindou, when are you gonna start helping me with paper work?"

"Oh!" She had a cheeky grin, "Maybe, after ya tell me what happened the other day in Riese-chan's room, hmm?" My face flushed red at that, I knew that she was talking about the tickling incident which I had explained to her for over a thousand times.

"Oh! So somethin' did happen!" I blushed even harder and glared at her, "Naughty, Tsukasa! I didn't know you had it in ya. Poor, Riese-chan, I hope ya weren't too rough on her."

"Nothing happened, Rindou!" I wish something did though. I felt my face reaching a temperature that probably rivalled the Earth's core.

She then looked at me and shook her head in disappointment, "You better make your move, Tsukasa," She stood up and began walking towards the door to leave, "Before someone else does." With that, she left me hanging. What has gotten into her?

As I finished my paperwork, I got ready to head to Riese's house. I prepared extra clothes in case I would end up sleeping there again, and I made her some consommé to soothe her. I safely transferred it into a container and made my way towards her place. I had a spare key to her house, but for some reason, it wasn't locked.

"Huh? Did I forget to lock it earlier?" I began to feel panicked and walked in putting my stuff on the couch and the soup on the table. I rushed to Riese's room and my blood began to boil.

There stood a guy who had the same hair color as mine looking down at Riese. He looked at me with a bored expression on his face.

"She's quite pretty when she's asleep."

A/N - Hi guys~ I made this chapter yesterday but saved it for today cause I have a dog show and might not be able to write. And I might be missing for 3 days next week because of a school activity. But I promise to update lots when I get back! Don't forget to send your questions for the characters in this story and request for one shots or something.

Oh! By the way, what skill do you guys think that Riese has? ;)

I do not own SnS, just my character Riese.


	12. Chapter 12

Riese's P.O.V

"What a worthless child." A deep voice offensively said, I knew that he was referring to me. I knew that voice anywhere. It sent shivers down my spine. I was in a dark room with 4 plates in front of me, I would never forget this event.

A timid voice erupted from my throat, my body was acting on it's own, I was trembling in fear, "I refuse to do it."

A loud slap could be heard, there was a stinging pain that was felt on my cheek. He had slapped me.

"Your talents won't ever develop if you refuse to obey me." His figure loomed over me and I couldn't bring myself to look at him in the face. He grabbed my chin and forcefully made me look at him straight in the eyes.

"Now tell me." He began still looking at me with his mocking eyes. "Wish dish contains the highest percent of sodium and which one would we throw away first?"

I tried to pull my head away but he clamped his hand even harder. I could feel tears beginning to form as hr glared daggers on me. If looks could only kill.

"I'm giving you one. last. chance." Venom dripped with each word. I tried to stay strong. "Don't tell me that 'Supreme Perception' is all hearsay? I came all the way here just to teach you."

Although I didn't want to give up, I knew that if I stay stubborn this time, I'd be severely punished. I cringe at the thought of being locked up in a room, all alone.

"Upper right plate contains 17% more sodium. The one beside is contains 15.34%. Lower right corner contains 13.57%." I paused for awhile and examined the last dish.

"The last one contains 3% more sodium." I gasped in horror. I knew what was coming next.

"Very good." There was a glint of false pride in his eyes as he let go of me. "Finish your task." I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Can't we just give it to the hungry?" I tried as much as possible to lock eyes with him. I was scared. But I tried to reason out with him. "It would be a waste..." I mumbled on.

He looked at me and chuckled making me sigh. At least I tried. "How many times do I have to repeat to you? Gourmet should only be served to those who can afford it."

"That's why there is no room for mistakes."

I woke up in a cold sweat, I looked around my room and noticed the tension in my room. By my bedside I saw the most unexpected person.

"Hayama-kun?" I questioned sitting up and looked at the door and my heart fluttered at who I saw.

"Tomato-kun!" The tension in the room then disappeared. The stoic look on Eishi-kun's face was replaced with a flustered and embarrassed look.

He looked down, "Riese-chan..." He was blushing madly. "Please don't call me that with other people around."

He mumbled something along the lines, "Must have been because of her medication."

He neared me and glared daggers at Hayama-kun, did something happen? "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling great now." I gave him a 'sincere' smile. It was a lie, I knew that he noticed but decided not to press on. One of the things that I loved about him.

'What? Loved?' I felt the heat rushing to my face and I looked down in an attempt to hide it. I then looked at Hayama-kun.

"Hayama-kun? Why are you here?" I then realized how rude my statement seemed. "Not that I don't want you here, it's just that you never come here?" I tried to explain myself making him smirk.

"Jun made me deliver something, she said that you might need it because the last time you were looking for it , it wasn't available." Ah..

"I also came to check on you." He looked towards the other way, "I just wanted to make sure that you would be fit to compete. You need to win the next round so that I could defeat you." Wow. So straight to the point.

Before I could speak, he walked towards the door, "I'll be leaving now, Riese." He turned over to Eishi-kun and simply nodded before leaving me with him.

Eishi-kun began to walk out of the door as well, "I'll be back." A couple of minutes later, he was back with some kind of lunch box. He approached and sat on the side of my bed making it slightly sink.

"What's that, Eishi-kun?" He opened it and held on to a spoon and got some of the soup. He neared the spoon to my mouth and I opened. I just realized that my stomach was complaining.

I moaned at the taste, it was pefect for times like this when one would have an empty stomach. I continued to savour the taste with closed eyes. When I turned to Eishi-kun to praise him, his face was slightly pink.

"Eishi-kun? Are you alright? You look feverish." I asked him in concern. He shook his head.

"I'm fine, Riese-chan. Would you want me to feed you more?" I blushed.

I was embarrassed, I didn'r want to burden him even more, "Eishi-kun, you already put so much effort into it, I don't want to stress you even more."

"I don't mind at all! Are you bothered by what I did? I didn't mean to I just thought that your body was strained." I giggled a bit and pinched his cheeks to calm him down.

"Eishi-kun, you didn't do anything wrong." I gave him a smile and removed my hand from his face. "I can eat on my own, don't-"

"Please let me feed you, Riese." He cut me off and my eyes met his, "It would make me feel better that somehow I was able to take care of you." I knew that it would be pointless to argue with him, so I complied and savored the soup.

A couple minutes after we had finished, I admit, I felt embarrassed. But at the same time, loved because of Eishi's actions. It nearly made me forget about the events yesterday and my dream. Let me correct myself, nightmare.

"Riese-chan," he brought me out of my trance and I tilted my head at him as if acknowledging him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I guess that it would only be fair. I mean, I guess it was time that I had opened up to someone.

I sighed, he suddenly had a worried look on his face and I held his hand before he could say something, "It... it started when my parents left me in France."

Third Person's P.O.V

A young girl stayed in front of an airport in France. She was all alone, she only had her suitcase with her and a small purse. She was holding a piece of paper in her left hand and read the words that was scribbled. She managed to hail a taxi and showed the driver that same paper. She managed to safely made her way to the place and paid the taxi driver who was extra friendly to her. The driver had pitied her and was nice enough to give her some candy to calm her down.

The lilac haired girl was in front of am elegant looking restaurant, in bold letters, the sign hung; SHINO. She gulped and summoned courage to open the doors. A woman wearing a receptionist/waitress outfit neared her.

"Could you be Hayashi-san?" She had black hair that was tied in a ponytail and was gentle with the way she spoke. Despite her having a serious expression.

Hayashi Riese nodded, she was naturally quiet especially when it camr to new people. "I'm Gao Wei, I'll lead you to Chef Shinomiya." She proceeded to get the suitcase from the girl and led the way. We arrived at an office and inside it was a man with coral colored hair and beside him, a serious looking man who had a scowl on his face.

"Chef Shinomiya, excuse me, but Riese Hayashi is here." The looked over to girl beside her whose face held no expression.

"Ah, Sakuya's brat." The man named Shinomiya looked at the girl from head to toe, he looked over at the other man in the room, "Abel, you are dismissed. We will continue our discussion later." With that, Abel left the room and gave a scowl to the young girl. The black haired girl who had assisted Riese also left. Leaving the two in the office.

"I won't be treating you specially just because I owe your mother." The lilac haired child shivered at the cold words. "You must keep up."

"You are very skilled indeed, brat." The pink haired man praised, a tinge of pride on his face.

Riese has been staying in the restaurant for a couple of months now, she has proven to be a great addition to the restaurant and not once did she slow down their work. Shinomiya had entrusted the girl to almost everything but had her take care of desserts. The rating of his restaurant had gone up when she arrived and had contributed to reaching his goal.

The tall man had fished something out of his pocket, it was a small, white pouch. He handed it over to the girl and gave one of his 'once in a blue moon' sincere smiles. "I hope that you'll like this." Being a child, she had excitedly opened the pouch and inside was a beautiful necklace. Riese gasped, it had an intricate design of peridot and amethyst combined.

"I'll put it on you." The male carefully put the necklace around the neck and clasped it securely. He turned to face her and smiled once more.

"Shinomiya-san," the girl called out looking at the head and owner of the restaurant. "You're smiling a lot today!"

"I believe that 'Thank you' would be an appropriate response." Shinomiya was rubbing his temple.

"Oh, sorry, Shinomiya-san. I was just overwhelmed by you smiling." The girl innocently admitted.

"You were more intrigued by my smile rather than the necklace?" The male curiously asked with an eyebrow lifted. He waited for the girl's response which was another giggle.

"You look more attractive with a smile, Shinomiya-kun. Maybe with that you'll finally get a girlfriend!" The statement resulted with the girl being flicked by an enraged salmon-haired man.

"I don't need your relationship advice." He huffed in annoyance.

"I was just kidding, Shinomiya-kun." She then had a mischievous grin on her face, "You still look good even though you aren't smiling."

"Your mother taught you to be exactly just like her." The man sighed in annoyance, but deep down the memories of the made him happy.

3 years had quickly passed since Shinomiya had taken Riese under his wing and had helped her master French Cuisine. This day was particularly a special day for the restaurant. It had been closer for the day in order to welcome a very special guest. One who would determine the restaurant's future.

Everyone was busy and scrambling around to get ready. Their head chef was extra tensed today and was barking order left and right. Each of the staff had been working extra hard to meet their chefs demands.

As the evening drew closer, the more they anticipated the arrival of their guest. Riese was ordered to retrieve the ingredient that was most important for Shinomiya, she made her way to reach the jar on top of the fridge and walked her way towards the chef who was busy with the dish.

Crash!

The glass was all over the floor and so was the important ingredient. Riese had dropped it by accident and the entire kitchen had stopped. As if time was frozen.

"What do you think you're doing? Are you stupid?" The head chef was furious as she reprimanded the frightened girl.

"Useless, pathetic, can't believe that I even accepted you here." String of curses began to erupt from his mouth.

"You know that, that ingredient was important! Are you trying to ruin my restaurant?! You know what, I could fire you on the spot!"

Tears began spilling from the lilac haired girl's eyes, she grabbed the chain of the necklace he had given to her and flung it at him.

"You don't need to! I quit!" She ran out the door, never to be seen by him again.

"Chef Shinomiya." One of the staff approached him with a scared look on his race.

"What?" He barked in annoyance at the person who approached him.

"Our guest has decided to move the date of his arrival."

His eyes widened and suddenly guilt washed over him. He ran out of the kitchen and restaurant. Everyone knew where he was headed.

'I need to find her.'

A/N - I honestly cannot believe people are actually reading this? Hahah. Just so you guys know, this story is updated on Wattpad. It will be going through editing, however. Thanks for the reviews and faves!


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